Saving Private Ryan

I saw the movie for the first time more than ten years ago. And I was thrilled. I saw it for the second time five years ago and I was still enthusiastic. I saw it for the third time today and it hit me, how silly the story is and how it's just about having an emotional finale and the old man being able to say his thing. Pathetic, like Spielberg preaches, but it's still a good movie. The landing is unbeatable. (03/30/2016)

From the first to the last scene, amazingly conceived, every shot engrosses you, until you feel that a bullet might fly towards you any moment, and the impact is so significant that I can't get it out of my head for a few days after watching it. I only have a slight issue with how enormous and somewhat unnecessarily grandiose it is, that Spielberg doesn't hold back on his desire for big stories even a bit. But that would be complaining about something I usually praise. I do appreciate, though, how the director, who is often criticized for being family-oriented and kind, can brilliantly turn all these criticisms upside down. (01/21/2006)

I'm neither a fan nor a great connoisseur of war movies, but show me one that is more emotionally packed than this Spielberg masterpiece. The opening with the Normandy landings will deservedly go down in film history as one of the most impressive scenes ever. The final battle is another perfect display of military strategy, and the film as a whole is a relentless exhibition of one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. Amazing atmosphere, amazing actors, brilliant camera work and harsh reality in every way. No one will ever make something like that again, I'll bet. (05/31/2012)

Yes, I like war films. Yes, Spielberg's technical processing of the film seems to bring fiction as close as possible to the reality of war. Still, I consider this film to be only slightly above average, because it says nothing about the war as such. It's a nice recruitment drive on the subject of all of us in the army are friends and we love each other, which is nice, but it feels just like the colored drawings on the promotional posters from World War II. I don't believe even a syllable of the story, so the film only gets points with me for the fight sequences (which are truly riveting) and excellent acting performances. I prefer to overlook the agitation subtext... (01/27/2004)

From a formal point of view, i.e., from the perspective of the film craft, there is not much to criticize about the film, almost nothing. It is an emotionally and extremely expensive blockbuster, which rightfully belongs in film history, especially with its opening 15-minute battle sequence. There could be endless things to say about Steven Spielberg's directing abilities, about how he can work with visual composition, build up a scene, and direct actors - and it would all be praise. However, what concerns me more is the formulaic script, the same problem I had with Spielberg's Schindler's List. When I compare this film to Klimov's drama Come and See, for example, I clearly feel Spielberg's superficiality. To label this film as just a popcorn flick would be grossly unfair, as there are incomparably worse films of its kind. It is undoubtedly an attempt at a serious war drama, but I fail to understand why Spielberg is not satisfied with real stories and real war history and feels the need to produce fiction. Sometimes the unnecessary pathos also bothered me, especially toward the end. Overall impression: 70%. (06/13/2006)